Athletic guard



Oct.*23, 1926. -I

w. P. wHlTLEY ATHLETIC GUARD Fiied Deo. 28, 1925 TIITL Patented Get. 33, 1928.

UNITED STATES tessere WILLIAM P. WHI'I'LEY, 0F ST. LGUIS, MISSOURI, SSIGNOR 'IO RAWLINGS MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY, GF ST. LGUIS, MISSOURI, Il, OGRPORATION OF MISSOURI.

ATHLETIC GUARD.

Application filed December This invention relates to athletic guards ot the type that comprise a substantially rigid and inflexible protecting element ot concave-convex shape in transverse cross section, provided on its rear side with a taut, transversely-disposed member Whose function is to hold said protecting element spaced away 'from the part ofi the ivearers body that is to be protected and also to act as a cushion that absorbs a shoclr or blow on protecting element.

The protecting element of such an athletic guard is usually formed from hard fibre and the transversely-disposed member on the rear side ot said protecting element is usually termed from piece or wide webbing stretched taut and secured at its ends tothe side edges oi the protecting element. Consequently, if the protecting element Warps in such a Way as to bring the side edges ot same closer together, it said protecting element is subjected to a blow or pressure which tends to increase the transverse curvature oi said element, the piece of' webbing that extends transversely across the rear side ot said protecting element is apt to become slack, and thus tail to effectively absorb a. shoclr or blow on the protecting element.

rEhe object of my invention is to provide an athletic guard of' the general type mentioned, which is equipped with a means that effectively prevents the protecting element or' the guard from assuming such a shape or condition as to materially reduce the tautness of the transversely-disposed member on the rear side ot' said element.

To this end I have devised an athletic guard which consists ot a protecting element ot approximately concave-conve?L shape in transverse cross section formed trom material that is substantially rigid and inflexible, a shock absorbing means at the rear side of said element formed from a piece oftl webbing or the like that is stretched taut transversely ot said member and secured to the side edge portions of; same, and a non-stretchable stay` 'drawn taut across the front side ot said protecting element and secured at its ends to the side edge portions of saine so as to prevent said protecting element from curling up or assuming such a condition 'as to materially reduce the tautness of the shock absorbing member on the rear side ot said element.

Figure l ot the drawings is a rear eleva 538, 1925. Serial No. 77,932.

tional View of an athletic guard constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a iront elevational vieuT of said guard.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional View of said guard, taken on the line 3 3 et Figure l; and

Figure 4: is a transverse sectional view of said guard, taken on the line 4 4 of Figure l.

My invention is applicable to thigh guards, shin guards, shoulder guards and Vvarious other kinds ot athletic guards that are adapted to be positioned in a pocket in a garment, laced to a garment, or attached directly to the portion ot the Wear-ers body Which it is desired to protect, and While I have herein illustrated my invention embodied in a'thigh guard of the type that is arranged in a pocket on the inside oit the leg or" a pair of toot ball pants, I Wish it to be understood that the particular purpose for which the guard is used is immaterial and also that the protecting element oit the guard can be shaped in various Ways and various means can be used for holding the guard in operative relationship with the part et the Wearers body that is to be protected, with out departing from the spirit of my in- Vention.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form ot myvinvention, A designates the protecting element oit the guard which preferably consists or a substantially rigid or inflexible member ot substantially concavo-convex shape in transversecross section formed trom a piece ot hard fibre or other suitable material that is bowed or curved slightly yintermediate its side edges, B designates a transversely-disposed member on the rear side ot the element A that is used to hold said element spaced aivay from the part oi the Wearers body that is to be protected and also to form a cushion that absorbs a shock or blow on said protecting element, and C designates a non-stretchable stay draivn tightly across the front side oi the protecting element A so as te prevent said protecting element Jfrom curling up or assuming such a condition as to materially reduce the tautness of the shock absorbing member B on the rear side oi' said protecting element. The shock absorbing member B is preferably `formed from a piece ot Wide Webbing or other suitablenonstretchable fabric that is stretched taut transversely of the protectiner element A and secured at its ends to the side edge portions of said protecting element in any suitable way, as for example, by stitches l, as shown in Figure 1. The stay C on the front side of the protecting element A is also preferably formed from a piece of wide webbing or other suitable non-stretchable fabric whose ends are connected to the side edge portions of the protecting element by the stitches .l that secure the ends of the shock absorbing member B to the protecting element. lith such a guard, any tendency of the protecting element A to curl up or assume such a condition that the side edge portions of same are arranged closer together, is offset or counteracted by the transverselydisposed stay C on the front side of the protecting element. Consequently, the protecting element A will retain its original conw cavo-convex shape and the transversely-dis posed member B at the rear side of said protecting element will remain sufficiently taut to effectively absorb a shock or blow on said protecting element and hold said element spaced away from the part of the wearers body that is to be protected.

If desired, pads D of felt or other suitable material can be arranged at the ends and at the side edges of the protecting element A and secured to said element by `stitches or in any other suitable way, and means can also be used to hold the shock absorbing member B in a slightly bowed condition so as to make it conform approximately to the part of the wearers body protected by the guard. In the event the guard is equipped with a means of the kind just referred to said means can be formed conveniently from a narrow strip of webbing or other suitable fabric E stretched longitudinally of the protecting clement A at the rear side of same and arranged so that it crosses the shock absorbing member B and exerts pressure on said shock absorbing member in a direction to hold it in a bowed condition, as shown in Figure 3, the ends of the strip E being secured to the upper and lower ends of the protecting element A in any suitable manner, as for example, by stitches l.

An athletic guard of the construction above described is light in weight, it inexpensive to manufacture and it is equipped with a very efficient means for absorbing a shock on the protecting element of the guard that is bound to remain in an operative condition, due to the fact that the stay G which is stretched taut across the front side of ther protecting element holds said protecting element in shape and prevents it from curling up or assuming such a condition as to materially reduce the tautness of the shock absorbing member B of the guard.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An athletic guard composed of a substantially rigid and inflexible protecting element of such cross-sectional shape that the side edge portions of same lie in a different plane than the intermediate portion of said element, va shock absorbing member stretched taut across the rear side of said protecting element and secured to the side edge portions of same, and a non-stretchable stay drawn taut across the front side of said protecting element and having its ends permanently se.- cured to the side edge portions of said protecting element for counteracting the tendency of said element to assume such a condition as to materially reduce the tautness of said shock absorbing member.

2. An athletic guard consisting o f a substantially rigid and inflexible protecting element, a taut shock absorbing member arranged transversely across the rear side of said protecting element and secured at its endsto said element, means for holding said shock absorbing member in a. slightly bowed or curved condition so as to make it conform approximately to the part of the wearers body against which it bears, and a nonstretchable stay drawn taut across the front side of said protecting element and having its ends permanently secured to the side edgev portions of said element, for the purpose described.

3. An athletic guard composed of a curved protecting element formed from a substantially rigid and inflexible hard niaterial, a fabric shock absorbing member stretched taut across the rear side of said element and permanently secured to said element so as to hold the same spaced away from the part of the wearers body to be protected, a longitudinally-disposed fabric strip arranged cross wise of said transversely-disposed fabric member and connected to the protecting element for holding said transverse member in a bowed condition, and a non-stretcliable stay stretched taut across the front side of said protecting element and permanently secured to said element.

WlLLlAM 1P. WHITLEY. 

